The song, “Smile,” features JAY-Z and Carter discussing her sexuality in a public first for either one.
“Mama had four kids, but she’s a lesbian / Had to pretend so long that she’s a thespian,” JAY-Z raps in the song, which contains a sample of Stevie Wonder’s “Love’s In Need Of Love Today.”
In 2012, JAY-Z said he supported same-sex marriage in an interview with CNN.
The musician’s new album is arguably more personal than any other work he has released. In addition to his mother’s sexuality, the rapper also seemingly apologizes for infidelities he has committed while being married to superstar Beyonce—dealing with rumors she brought up in her 2016 album Lemonade. One line in JAY-Z’s title song goes “I apologize, often womanize/Took for my child to be born to see through a woman’s eyes.”